An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Lärche

by Friedrich Kluge

Lärche, feminine, ‘larch,’ from the equivalent Middle High German lęrche, larche; Old High German *larihha is by chance not recorded, but Latin larix (accusative larĭcem, compare Kelch from Latin calicem) necessarily leads to Old High German *larik, and then by permutation and mutation to *lęrihha. The permutation of k to ch, and the fact that the word is based on a Latin term pronounced larikem (English larch), point to a very early adoption; compare Kelch.